What’s next for Jan Blachowicz and Corey Anderson after UFC Rio Rancho?

In the main event of UFC Rio Rancho, Jan Blachowicz was taking on Corey Anderson in a rematch of their 2015 fight where it was Anderson who got his hand raised. Yet, this time the stakes were higher as the winner of this fight could very well get the next shot at Jon Jones.

In the end, Blachowicz extended his winning streak with a first-round knockout over Anderson.

Now, following UFC Rio Rancho, here is what we think should be next for Jan Blachowicz and Corey Anderson.

Jan Blachowicz

Jan Blachowicz was an underdog heading into this fight and in BJPENN.com’s Fighter Picks, not a single pro fighters picked him to win. But, he showed his power is legit with another knockout win under his belt.

Now, there is no question it should be Jan Blachowicz who gets the next title shot against Jones. The Pole has headlined cards, as this was his third main event in the past four fights. His other fight being a high profile fight against Luke Rockhold. So, he has the name recognition and “Bones” seemed interested in the fight. He was standing on his seat waving his arms up with a smile on his face and even said after the fight that Blachowicz is a worthy contender.

Given neither Blachowicz or Jones took much damage this fight could happen at International Fight Week in July and give the card two title fights with Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal expected to take place then.

Corey Anderson

Corey Anderson had been talking a lot saying he’d be the one to finally beat Jon Jones, and seemingly was getting under the champ’s skin. But all that was for nothing as he is back to the drawing board following this loss.

Anderson should still be ranked in the top-6 or 7 so he still could be just two or three wins away from a title shot. A logical next opponent would be Volkan Oezdemir. The Swiss-native has strung together two straight wins and is looking to fight up in the rankings. The winner of that fight could be one or two wins away from a title shot. The loser, meanwhile, would most likely enter gatekeeper status at 205 pounds.

Who do you think should be next for Jan Blachowicz and Corey Anderson after UFC Rio Rancho?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/17/2020.